Bassick holds off Trinity Catholic with late push

By Dave Ruden, Staff Writer

Published 2:07 am, Saturday, January 16, 2010

STAMFORD -- No team has given the Trinity Catholic boys basketball team more trouble over the years than Bassick. The Lions have traditionally given the state's premier program over the past decade difficulty, whether contenders themselves or in a rebuilding mode.

The two teams met Friday night cast in different roles, with the Lions unbeaten in conference play and the Crusaders off to their worst start in years.

After trailing for all but 2 1/2 minutes of the second half, Trinity Catholic forged a 56-56 tie with 34 seconds remaining on Jonathan Boykin's 3-point shot.

But Terqwen Perkins answered with a basket at the other end, then added a pair of clinching free throws with 5.8 seconds left after a Trinity Catholic turnover to give the Lions a 60-56 victory.

"We did a fine job of closing it up," Bassick coach Harrison Taylor said. "It was a good team effort."

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Perkins and Kyle Geer led a balanced attack with 14 points apiece for the Lions, who improved to 8-1 overall and 7-0 in league play. Jamill Powell added 13 points and Dashawn Bookhart 11.

"We always give them a hard time," Taylor said. "We always play them tough. They are a mirror image of ourselves."

But the Crusaders were 6-for-14 from the foul line, missed at least that many easy layups and were eventually done in by unforced errors. Despite their sloppy play, the Crusaders stayed close throughout, never trailing by more than seven points. They rallied in the second half and tied the game at 48-48 on Boykin's 3-point shot from the corner with 5:54 remaining, then took their only lead of the half on Aaron Spence's inside basket.

Bassick went back on top and had a 56-51 lead on Geer's running bank shot with 2:02 left. Pinson answered with a drive and Boykin later made a steal and hit a long jumper off a return pass from Scaturchio to draw the Crusaders even.

Bassick's Jeremy Daniel, the only active returning starter from a year ago, then found Perkins alone inside with 22 seconds left to make the score 58-56. Pinson, who struggled in the second half, lost control of the ball and then was called for palming as he tried to regain possession. Perkins was immediately fouled and made both shots.

"That was the best offensive game he has played," Taylor said of Perkins. "Our kids stepped up defensively because Trinity Catholic is a hell of a shooting team."

The Lions have been one of the early surprises this season. Their only other returning starter, Joshua Hamilton, played in the opening game but has been sidelined since for medical reasons, according to Taylor.

The combination of good young talent and an extremely weak league has helped Bassick's stock rise.

"Everyone is brand new," Taylor said. "The kids started off slow but have been getting better."